Talking with Ivan and Maria O’Farrill, their creative, passionate vision that turned Fàme Caffe into the top neighborhood breakfast spot in Midtown comes through loud and clear. It’s hard to imagine that Ivan originally planned a career as an accountant.
Maria, his wife, whom he met as a 15-year-old in Cabo San Lucas, said she didn’t think that being a CPA was a good fit for Ivan and suggested he look into the culinary arts. He followed her advice and enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America, while Maria studied at the French Culinary Institute. They fell in love with cooking and each other.
After stints working for Daniel Boulud in New York and at Addison in San Diego, the couple moved to Phoenix with dreams of opening a restaurant. “We originally thought of doing a fine dining restaurant, but we kept coming back to the fact that our favorite meal of the day is breakfast,” said Ivan. “No one was doing breakfast the way we wanted, so that’s how Fàme Caffe was born.”
The couple’s breakfast style fuses their classical French training with their roots growing up in Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City. In 2014, the stars aligned for the couple to open Fàme. “It really is our first baby,” Ivan said with a laugh. “We literally picked up the wood and built so much of it ourselves. We were there for hours and hours.”
In a spot where many restaurants had failed before, Fàme Caffe won over the neighborhood with Ivan in the kitchen and Maria in the front of the house, telling their story through words and the food. Locals fell in love with the couple and the unique menu that focuses on high-quality ingredients and impeccable technique over trends.
“Both Maria and I lived in Mexico City for many years, and we love that food culture,” said Ivan. “As Mexico City cuisine becomes more well-known, we keep adding more Mexican breakfast items.” That influence is evident in some of the newest menu offerings, including the chilaquiles and the soon-to-debut tortas made from telera rolls sourced locally from Don Guerra’s Barrio Bagel & Slice. The menu pays homage to their French training with a classical café dish rarely seen today, the Monte Cristo, and Pain Perdu, the original French Toast.
The Monte Cristo and The Frenchie French Toast are perfect examples of the Fàme philosophy: use the highest-quality ingredients and let them shine. Their French toast is constantly raved about, but according to Ivan, it’s a simple dish, well-executed. Deceptively simple. It takes Noble Bread three days to make the bread. The bread is then sliced and left overnight at Fàme to harden slightly. It’s soaked in a special custard mixture for hours, then seared to order before being finished with ripe strawberries, powdered sugar, and maple syrup.
The Monte Cristo uses pain perdu in place of standard bread, so it also takes days to come to life. “What we do here has to be different and more special than what you can do at home,” said Ivan. “It’s a process, but you can taste the difference.”
Whenever possible, Fàme looks for the best ingredients in their own backyard. Over the past decade, they’ve developed relationships with local purveyors like Crow’s Dairy, McClendon’s Select, Mama Lola, Schreiner’s Fine Sausage, and more.
While Fàme is famous for its French toast, its pancakes are actually Ivan’s favorite item on the menu. “I use my Grandma’s recipe and a little secret procedure that makes them really special,” he said mysteriously. “So many people come in and say they’re the best pancakes they’ve ever had.” Ironically, Maria’s favorite dish is one they resisted putting on the menu, the breakfast burrito.
“When we first opened, we didn’t have a burrito because they aren’t part of Mexico City cuisine,” explained Ivan. “The burritos in America are Tex-Mex, but our guests kept asking for it, so we finally went out and sourced the best ingredients to make one, and now it’s one of our best sellers.”
With the success of Fàme, it’s no surprise that the couple hopes to expand to a second location, but they are in no rush. “Fàme is a community place,” said Ivan. “The locals welcomed us, which we’re so grateful for. We look forward to many years of making memories with them. That’s really the best part.”
written by: dena rochè
photographed by: grace stufkosky
𖡡 4700 north central avenue, phoenix, az 85012